We wanted to get an overview of how Newcastle United fans were feeling after the conclusion of the 2025/26 season.
Thoughts on that season ended, plus even more importantly, on what is set to happen as NUFC move forward.
So we sent out questions in late May to a number of regular/irregular contributors to The Mag.
An ideal time to get a snapshot of views from Newcastle United fans on their thoughts, with a busy summer ahead of us all.
In early June we published a number of articles covering what the various contributors to The Mag thought.
Biding his time a little longer, David Punton has now sent us his answers to those questions we posed in late May:
Three words to describe how you currently feel as a Newcastle United fan?
Frustrated. Underwhelmed. Concerned.
Three words to describe Newcastle United now?
Disappointing. Rebuilding. Slow.
Newcastle United fell from 5th to 12th in the Premier League, what percentage of the blame/responsibility would you attach to each of these?
Alexander Isak – 10%
Eddie Howe – 35%
The players – 20%
Newcastle United owners (not dealing properly with Isak situation, not having senior staff in place etc to help get summer 2025 transfers done etc) – 25%
Bad luck and small margins – 10%
What rating out of 10 would you give each of the permanent summer 2025 signings for their contributions across the 2025/26 season?
Anthony Elanga – 4/10
Jacob Ramsey – 6/10
Malick Thiaw – 7/10
Yoane Wissa – 3/10
Nick Woltemade – 6/10
What do you see as the biggest priorities in the transfer market this summer?
The club needs to get the average age of the squad down and try to rebuild this team. We definitely need a left winger to replace Gordon. We need to revamp the goalkeeping department too. A new option at centre mid is a must. New full backs. I even think we really need to look at a new option at centre forward.
Was it the correct decision to sell Anthony Gordon and how do you think he should be judged on his time at Newcastle United (and do you think he will prove a success at Barcelona)?
It was the correct decision to sell Gordon. Any player that doesn’t want to be there needs to be moved on. Was Gordon’s heart in it last season? Arguably not all of the time bar the European games, where he was very good.
His time at Newcastle Utd will largely be remembered fondly but there are times I felt I am still waiting for him to have a really brilliant Premier League game. The red card on the eve of last season’s League Cup final was a low point, though his absence from the final (weirdly) may have helped us to get the win that day.
That said, his performances in the semi-final against Arsenal made him fully deserving of his medal.
He’s going to find things harder at Barca but in that team he could well thrive. He’ll have to be patient for his chance though. He may be on the bench more over there. The other challenge he will have is settling over there, although his press conference was astonishing – he spoke perfect Spanish.
The Newcastle United owners refused to sell Alexander Isak across summer 2025, only to then do so on deadline day. If they had carried out their reported intention to make him stay and the window had closed with Isak still at the club (plus Wissa and/or Woltemade not signed), how do you predict things would have then turned out for Alexander Isak and Newcastle United (Would he have still refused to train and play? How would Newcastle’s season have turned out? etc etc)?
Player power always tends to win out. If we’d made him stay it could have been toxic. We may have had a player on strike or banished to the reserves. It’s not clear if he would have climbed down. If he had agreed to row in behind the manager and play again then it’s possible we may have benefited. It’s hard to tell though.
What do you predict will be the Newcastle United first choice eleven for the 2026/27 season and please put ‘new signing’ in any position where you think that will turn out to be the case.
New Keeper; Livramento, Thiaw, Burn, Hall, Bruno, Joelinton, new CM, New LW, Woltemade, Elanga.
Is Eddie Howe still in charge next season the correct decision?
Yes – but only just. If Howe had capital from previously better seasons then he’s using that up now.
He deserves a chance to turn it around. He is getting pelters across social media. The gloss has come off a bit after five years at the helm. He wasn’t aided by last summer’s farce, and Howe himself needs to be more open to change and tactical rethinks. He needs a decent start to the new season.
How confident are you that Newcastle will not lose Bruno, Hall, Livramento, Thiaw and Tonali? Do you think it would be a good thing if any of these players were sold?
The club seems to have made it clear they need to be less afraid of selling players. What’s termed ‘smart selling’, and as Brighton always seem to do, re-invest the money extremely well.
On that basis, any one of the above mentioned players could go. I’d like to think we’re getting one more season from all of them. The one most likely to leave is Sandro Tonali. Bruno’s future could alter if he comes back as a world cup winner. I hope he gives us one more season. He’s a great player.
Which players emerge with credit for the 2025/26 season?
Lewis Hall has really caught the eye. Thiaw has been decent too. Miley looked good as right back. The problem we have is not enough players emerged with enough credit. Osula was a real bright spot amid the gloom.
What would represent success in the 2026/27 season for Newcastle United?
Bringing European football back. That has to be seen as an aim. A run in the cups too. We’ve done it once, we have to try and do it again.
What do you see as the minimum to achieve this coming season?
The bare minimum is to better 12th place, and avoid letting that lot down the road win both derbies.
We really need to get back into European football. We’re not entitled to it but that has to be the higher aim. It’s a bit of a vicious circle – there is a need to be in UEFA competitions, but when in it, it saps the players with a squad that lacks depth.
Predict the top six in the Premier League (in order) and which three clubs will be relegated in 2026/27.
My top six: Man City. Arsenal. Liverpool, Manchester United. Villa. Chelsea.
Relegated: Hull, Ipswich, Fulham.
Which eight current Newcastle United players (in order) are the most important to keep for the 2026/27 season?
Bruno, Hall. Livramento. Barnes. Tonali. Joelinton. Thiaw. Osula.
At what point did you first think the 2025/26 Newcastle United wasn’t going to turn out as you had hoped it would?
There were many moments which made it feel like the season wasn’t going to bode well.
Isak leaving was a hammer blow. As was the lack of a sporting director over the summer of 2025 and a series of transfer targets going elsewhere.
Both derby games set the tone too. That first game, with the Woltemade own goal, just made me feel this isn’t our year.
You could even go back to the previous season. Winning a cup and getting into the Champions League. It was always going to be a big ask to match or better that.
Which players do you think would be ideal (and realistic) signings this summer (don’t feel limited to only players who have been linked to Newcastle United in the media)?
Names aside, there has to be more value in shopping abroad. We need to spend smarter. Get deals done faster.
A new winger to replace Gordon is vital. James Trafford at Man City is a long term target. Can they make it third time lucky with him? Whatever happens, I just hope they avoid any long drawn out sagas.
We are now coming up to five years since the Newcastle United owners bought the club from Mike Ashley. Are you now more or less (or the same) optimistic about where they will take the club compared to how you felt back in October 2021? How committed do you think the owners are now to NUFC? Yasir Al-Rumayyan said the intention was to make Newcastle number one in the world, CEO David Hopkinson says the intention is that by 20230 the club will be competing to win all competitions. What do you predict will be the reality in the next five years?
I’m a bit less optimistic about the owners but the fact remains that under their watch we got our hands on a major trophy. I think that sometimes gets forgotten.
They’re shafted by the spending regulations and that has been a massive issue for the project. It’s got them in a straitjacket. It was a mistake to let Amanda Staveley go. She was a vital cog in the success of things.
We hear noises about PiF’s commitment to the club but there’s always counter briefing that that is not the case. They need to start getting the transfer windows right. They also need to get their skates on regarding the plans for a new training ground after five years in charge.
Then there is the stadium issue. Will we ever get an answer? It’s a big issue with the water muddied by the current ground being a Euro 2028 host venue.
The current CEO impresses me more than his predecessor. The reality of the next five years is not entirely clear. They are right to be ambitious. They have to be.
Competing to win all competitions is something I’m less certain on? The financial regs may make a Premier League win unlikely. You never know though.
One thing that the owners will always have to live with is the Elliott Anderson issue. He was allowed to go and we are now let to rue that decision. He’s a permanent fixture in the England side and heading to Man City. He had to be sold due to PSR, but with the value of hindsight, it was Gordon who should have gone that summer, not Anderson, a local lad whose heart was broken to be moved on. It stings and will do for a very long time.
How would you rate your optimism for next season at Newcastle United from 0-100?
50. There is growing concern that we may lose Bruno as well as Tonali. They will need to be replaced. It’s a huge summer for the sporting director.
Are you taking an active interest in the Newcastle players at the World Cup?
Yes. It’s always worth keeping an eye on how our players do at the World Cup. It sets out when we’ll know when they’ll be back for pre-season. Fingers crossed nobody (other than Tino Livramento) gets injured.
When Anthony Gordon is playing at the World Cup will you still be thinking of him as one of our own
No. I’ve already cleared him from my mind. He’s a Barcelona player now. He wanted to go and it’s done.
He left on good terms though. He did it the right way, albeit a question mark remains over how much he was trying last season in a black and white shirt. I hope he has a good world cup. I also hope he does well at Barca. There was no way he could turn them down. I think we all get that.
What level of interest generally do you have in the World Cup and what is your prediction on who will win it and how far do you think England will get?
Every time this question comes up I am firmly in the camp that does have an interest in the tournament.
It’s always enjoyable to watch the games and it fills the gap before the new season. The kick off times make it hard to watch though and I am less sure about the drinks breaks.
One from France, Spain or Portugal are winners. I’d like to see England win it, of course. The challenge, as ever, will be our propensity to crack under pressure in the glaring white heat of the knockout rounds.